The pledge of a lifetime
Jo Williamson supports Cancer Research UK’s life-saving research through a gift in his Will, and you could too
Like so many others, Jo Williamson’s life has been profoundly affected by cancer. In 1993, his wife Sue was diagnosed with a very rare cancer called phaeochromocytoma, which had spread to her bones. The news was earthshattering for Jo: “We were told that she had six months to live, which was very hard as our children were aged 16 and 14, and the twins were 12.”
Sue was able to receive radiotherapy treatment in Glasgow, which for a time allowed her to live a normal life, be a mum to her four children and go back to work, as well as travel to parts of the world that she and Jo had planned to visit during retirement.
“In 2002, I could see that the disease and the treatment was starting to take its toll on Sue”, recalls Jo, so he took early retirement to look after her until, on 23 December 2003, Sue passed away.
While recovering from their tragic loss, in 2010 the family discovered that the faulty SDH-B gene that had caused Sue’s phaeochromocytoma was hereditary, and the twins Jennie and James had inherited it. After scans, they were found to have multiple tumours, many of which were successfully removed. However, James has one large tumour on his carotid artery that is too dangerous to operate on, while Jennie has a tumour in her jugular vein, which radiotherapy treatment has successfully stopped the growth of. Both continue to be monitored on a regular basis.
FINDING HOPE
These experiences have made Jo all the more determined. “I hope my gift encourages people touched by cancer to realise they can be proactive and help find cures for this terrible disease”, he says.
When Sue was first diagnosed, Jo decided to run the Medoc Marathon around the vineyards of Bordeaux for Cancer Research UK – he raised £80,000 and was named the charity’s Scotland supporter of the year in 1994. Of his active lifestyle, he says “I have always enjoyed the outdoors and when training for any of the eight marathons and numerous half marathons I have run, it has allowed me to think issues through. It gave me ideas for raising small amounts of money from lots of people.”
Since 2013, Jo has also been volunteering as a Campaigns Ambassador, and in 2016 he decided to a leave Cancer Research UK a gift in his Will: “We have been fighting cancer as a family since my wife was diagnosed in 1993. I will continue to fight cancer until I pass away, so why not continue to fight cancer when I am gone?”
To find out more or to request a free Gifts in Wills guide visit cruk.org/pledge or call 0800 035 9000